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Ragnarok: Breaking of Helheim 5
I was going to stop buying this, but I figured I’d finish it out when I found out there were only two issues left to go. Stupid completionist me. It’s...fine. Not very memorable, but I suppose Walt Simonson drawing any kind of Thor is worth picking up.
Strange Adventures 2
Tom King is so on his game, and Mitch Gerads and Evan Shaner are playing right along with him. I love this iteration of Mr Terrific. There’s a horrible, ominous sense of impending melancholy and tragedy. This is going to be amazing.
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| Breathtaking. |
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| This hits like a sledgehammer to the gut. |
Heroes in Crisis 1-9
Of course, I thought the same thing seven issues into Heroes in Crisis. I wrote a lot about this series while I was reading it month to month, and everything I said a year ago still holds true. Tom King writes some great character moments and a mystery that’s engaging right up until the point where Wally West makes his confession. The final two issues are a complete mess from a story standpoint, and they still make me angry. My objection is to the use of Wally West. What I wrote the first time around:
“However, I believe that’s the point King is trying to make - this is what PTSD can do to even the best of people. He’s clearly writing this from a place of personal experience, and I think the fact that I find Wally’s actions so far out of whack is exactly the cultural incomprehension that he wants to address.”
Reading this the second time, I don’t care - Tom King is saying some really important things about PTSD and how it’s perceived in our society, and I’m grateful to him for that. But from a story point of view, I just hate it. The ending takes an amazing, well crafted story and completely ruins it. The dichotomy of the two sections merits this story the rare “Huh” rating.
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| So subtle I missed it the first time around. Masterful work by Clay Mann. |
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| Will Eisner would be proud. |
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: Yes
Would read again: Yes
Rating: Huh.
Identity Crisis 1-7
This may be the bleakest, grimmest, least fun mainstream comic story I’ve ever read. This is torture porn set in the DC universe. The sheer number of screwed up things boggle the mind - It starts with Sue Dibny’s murder. It flashes back Dr Light raping her. Then Captain Boomerang kills Tim Drake’s father. Somewhere in there, we learn that the JLA’s been mindwiping their enemies for years. Not only that, they did it to Batman as well when he found out what they were doing.
What the hell. This is not why I read DC and Marvel. Perhaps in other comics, but not here. And that also makes it hard to rate; This is not poorly written. This would be rather good if it didn’t feel so completely askew of my expectations for a DC comic in both characterization and tone.
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| Love the colors on this cover by Michael Turner. |
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| Not a Rags Morales fan. He botches what could be a powerful moment with some ugly faces. |
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| And an even uglier bowl cut. |
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| Though I've got to give him credit for really capturing the horror of this moment. |
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: No
Would read again: Yes
Rating: Huh.
Two Huhs in a row. DC really knows how to publish events that confuse…
Countdown to Infinite Crisis 1
This would have been a fun little mystery if it didn’t end with Ted Kord getting shot in the head. What the hell was DC Editorial thinking in this era?
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: No
Would read again: Yes
Rating: Nice
Infinite Crisis 1
A trash story, wasting the talents of Geoff Johns and Phil Jimenez.
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: No
Would read again: No
Rating: Stupid (Cutting)
Jack Cross 1-2
One of Warren Ellis’ weaker works. Past me didn’t even get the last two issues of the miniseries. Present me sees no reason to keep the first two.
Regret buying: No
Would buy again: No
Would read again: No
Rating: Disliked (Cutting)
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